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ADDRESSES 



DELIVERED AT THE 






5: OPENING OF MADISON COLLEGE, ^ 






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SEPTEMBER 1 , 1851 










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ADDRESSES 



DELIVERED ATTHE 



OPENING OF MADISON COLLEGE, 



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EPTEMBER 1, 1851 



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- ADDRESS OF MR, DEFORD 

ON BEHALF OF THE TRUSTEES OF MADISON COLLEGE, 
AT THE INAUGURATION OF REV. R. H. BALL. 



Ladies and Gentlemen: 

I rise on behalf of the Board of Trustees to congratulate 
you on the election of a President and Professor of Madison 
College, and the prospect you now have of its future useful- 
ness. And I am happy to be able to say to you, that with 
unanimity our choice has fallen on a gentleman of conceded 
qualifications, distinguished alike for his extensive literary 
acquirements, affability, politeness and high Christian char- 
acter. 

Upon the opening of the college, under new auspices, it 
may not be uninteresting, particularly to those concerned, 
who live at a distance, to refer briefly to some of the more 
important provisions of the chartered rights of this Institu- 
tion, which I regard as most liberal. The 3d article of the 
charter not only secures the perpetuity of the Institution to 
the Trustees therein named, and to their successors, but also 
gives to them, for its use, all lands, goods or moneys given to 
it by will or otherwise, allowing them to invest the same in 
such manner as they may deem most beneficial for the col- 
lege. The 5th article empowers the Trustees to appoint 
Professors, fix their salaries, and remove them for miscon- 
duct, &c. ; in short, to do all things necessary to promote 
the interests of the college. 



4 INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS. 

The 6th article confers on the Trustees the power to grant 
and confirm " such degrees in the liberal arts and sciences to 
such pupils of the college or others whom by their proficiency 
in learning or other meritorious distinctions, they shall think 
entitled to them." The 9th article of the charter contains 
an unusual, but I think a very important provision, giving 
the Trustees power " to establish a department of agriculture 
in said college." This great interest has become so import- 
ant in our country, that the establishment of a chair in our 
colleges for its study, must be regarded with much satisfac- 
tion by a great portion of our citizens. And now, fellow- 
citizens, this college has been offered to and accepted by the 
General Conference of the Methodist Protestant Church, 
upon the terms of the very liberal charter, a part of which 
has been referred to, as a suitable place to locate a general 
institution of learning, which it proposes to establish in your 
midst. That offer has been carried out by the old Board of 
Trustees, so far as to justify the belief that it will ultimately 
be fully complied with— a sufficient number of the Trustees 
selected by the church having been already elected to enable 
her to take the control of the college and proceed to its 
organization. Located, fellow-citizens, as it is, in your midst, 
if successful, it will greatly advance the true interests of your 
town and country. How deep then is the interest you have 
in its prosperity. May we not confidently calculate on your 
aid in our endeavors to build up an institution of learning 
here; assuring you that on our part no effort will be want- 
ing, with a firm reliance on divine Providence, to make it a 
blessing to the country and to the church. As one of the 
literary institutions of the land, I trust that Madison College 
is yet destined to exert a powerful influence in sustaining all 
our social, civil and religious interests. What is it that mind, 
enlarged and enlightened by a good education, is not capable 
o^ accomplishing within human grasp, especially when pro- 



INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS. O 

perly influenced and controled by the principles of our holy 
religion ? Are the affairs of the state to be settled and safely 
conducted, the man of learning takes the lead in doing it. 
Are the masses to be properly directed ? it can be done best 
by the convincing powers and eloquence of the learned 
statesman, upon whose words a nation's destiny may depend. 
Education is not only necessary for the statesman, but also 
for the social circle. What an elevation of enjoyment does 
it bring here ! dignifying all its relations, soothing all its sor- 
rows and sweetening all its pleasures. No matter what may 
be our pursuit in life, education will dignify and render it 
more honorable and useful. How much has been done for 
the advancement of the arts by the learning and genius of 
the mechanic. Look at the magnificence of the steam en- 
gine, propelling our ships from shore to shore and from sea 
to sea. I might enlarge here, but time will not admit of it. 

J have said that mind, enlarged and enlightened by a good 
education, has a controling influence in the affairs of men, 
especially when properly influenced "by the principles of 
our holy religion." I wish it to be distinctly understood 
that, in my opinion, education that is not based upon proper 
religious principles, and that does not acknowledge Chris- 
tianity at every step, is essentially defective. That college in 
which Christ and Him crucified is not held up, on all proper 
occasions, as the foundation of all the hopes of the student, 
for time and for eternity, fails in the accomplishment of what 
ought to be its highest object; and while it stores the mind 
with learning, will not improve the heart. The claims of 
Christianity must not be disregarded by the college or the 
student. But while his mind is being enlarged by the great 
truths of science, they should lead him to look through them 
up to the greater Architect of the universe. 

The position of this college, the beautiful scenery that 
surrounds it, the fertile and healthy country in which it is 
1* 



b Introductory address'. 

located, all conspire to make it a fit place for literary pursuits. 
It is your direct interest in any and every point of view to 
build up this college. Here your sons can be educated, with- 
out sending them away from under your own eye at great 
expense. In a pecuniary point of view, too, you are deeply 
concerned, as the students assembled here from time to time 
will not only consume the produce of the farmer, but also 
afford employment to the mechanic and business to the other 
citizens. 

To the Methodist Protestant Church, under whose par- 
ticular control Madison College now is, I would say a few 
words before I take my seat. To you, we, as the Trustees 
of this Institution and representatives of the church, look 
more particularly for its success and support— accepted as it 
has been, by our General Conference, and now being opened 
under its auspices, the honor of 'every member of the church 
throughout this Union is, to some extent at least, pledged to 
sustain it. It is the common property of the whole church, 
and it is for you to make it a blessing to the country and a 
credit to the church. All that is required to secure both is 
the united and steady support of the membership by sending 
their sons here to he educated and by a liberal endowment of it. 
Nothing will firmly establish it but such an endowment as 
will at all times secure the services of such a Faculty as will 
do honor to you and the college. We trust measures for 
this purpose will be speedily taken. 

But I must close this address in order that you may enjoy 
the intellectual repast that awaits you. I therefore tender a 
hearty welcome to the newly elected President of the Col- 
lege, assuring him of other aid in the discharge of the ardu- 
ous duties of the highly honorable post to which he has been 
unanimously called ; praying that He who controls the uni- 
verse may so direct us that we may accomplish our most 
ardent expectations and realize our highest hopes. 



ADDRESS 

BY THE PRESIDENT, REV. RICHARD H. BALL, A. M. 



Mr. President and Gentlemen Trustees; 
Ladies and Gentlemen : 

In entering upon the duties assigned me by the Board of 
Trustees in connection with the institution of learning about 
to be established at this place, it may be expected that I 
would make some remarks concerning its prospects and the 
means to be used most likely to insure its prosperity and 
success ; some on the general topics of literature and sci- 
ence, as branches of collegiate study; and some on their con- 
nection with the all-important subject of natural and revealed 
religion. This expectation J shall endeavor to fulfil. But I 
must advertise you that a full discussion of any one of these 
themes would require much more time than we can devote 
collectively to all of them ; and, therefore, I shall be able on 
the present occasion to present for your consideration but 
very few of the many thoughts and arguments that seem to 
demand our respectful attention. 

That branch of the Protestant Church of which I appear 
here as one of the humble representatives, has long felt the 
need of a high seminary of learning within her own fellow- 
ship, at which her sons could be educated in literature and 
science, morality and religion; to which she could point 
with a noble Christian feeling as a monument of usefulness 
of her own creation and endowment, and the object of her 
fostering regard, for the good of man and the glory of God ; 
and methinks she deeply deplores her hitherto seeming delin- 



o INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 

quency in this connection of Christian labor and enterprise. 
But it must be borne in mind that the Methodist Protestant 
Church is young in years ; and while the time-honored insti- 
tutions under the patronage and management of other denom- 
inations in our happy land, have been growing and thriv- 
ing — some for a score of years, others for half a century, 
and others again for more than two centuries — she has had 
an existence of but little more than twenty years ; and yet, 
such have been her zeal and activity, and so remarkably has 
she been blessed of the Lord, that from small beginnings she 
has multiplied her membership to well nigh one hundred 
thousand communicants. And while sister denominations 
are urging forward the car of improvement, and are dispens- 
ing the ineffable benefits of light and knowledge through 
Protestant Christendom and the world, she too would stretch 
forth her helping hand, and contribute her quota in this most 
glorious work. 

For patronage and endowment we look mainly to the 
church. Doubtless she has the ability and the willingness 
to meet our reasonable expectations in these respects. But 
she must be assured that her patronage will be properly be- 
stowed, and her moneys prudently appropriated, before she 
would be justifiable in granting the one or the other to that 
extent requisite to place Madison College on a firm and per- 
manent foundation. And the conditions implied in the fore- 
going remark are conditions with which the citizens of Union- 
town and its vicinity have much to do. A hearty, prompt and 
united co-operation — an identification of interest in the pros- 
perity of the College — a due respect to the peculiar feelings 
of students from distant parts of our country— a disposition 
and an effort " to make amends for the absent heaven of their 
homes:" these and other kindred particulars should ever be 
observed by the citizens of that place where a College is lo- 
cated. And are not the peculiar circumstances of Uniontown, 



JNAUGURAL ADDRESS. \f 

at this crisis in her history, such as to indicate, unmistakably, 
the wisdom of such an identification of interest ? The Col- 
lege flourishing, will not her beautiful and fertile environs 
find a ready market, with increasing demands, for their super- 
fluous products — her merchants for their commodities — her 
mechanics for their manufactures ? — and will not the archi- 
tect be in requisition to increase the number of her edifices 
and enlarge her borders, until her fair proportions shall rival 
those of Cambridge or Carlisle? And thus may not, will 
not Uniontown successfully vie with other places, the very 
life of which is their seats of learning? The kindness and 
cordial courtesy with which, as a stranger, your speaker has 
been received and welcomed among you by all classes, war- 
rants the belief that this hearty and prompt co-operation will 
be extended — this identification of interest established— this 
friendly feeling for students from a distance cultivated; and 
that there will not be found a man in the place so neglectful 
of his own interests, and so reckless of the welfare of his 
neighbors, as to discourage by word or deed this arduous yet 
glorious task of establishing an institution, the successful 
operation of which shall prove of such inestimable benefit to 
this community. On this point a word to the wise, it would 
seem, should be sufficient. 

And let it not be supposed that, because an institution is 
under the exclusive management of one religious denomina- 
tion, therefore u it is peculiarly liable to the operation of 
narrow and sectarian views." No supposition would be 
more erroneous. Those who would so conclude betray great 
ignorance of the principles which ordinarily govern human 
conduct. Thus organized and under the control of one 
branch of the church, all incentive to theological and con- 
troversial disputation, often so sadly detrimental to the spirit 
of genuine piety, is removed ; and no contest for the suprem- 
acy? by discordant and jarring sects, can ever obtain in its 



10 INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 

peaceful precincts. But, on the contrary, the pure principles 
of morality and the great doctrines of the cross, with all 
their harmonizing and heavenly influences, and all their soul- 
subduing and soul-enkindling power, will become the theme 
of every appeal and the burthen of every precept, and the 
lines of sectarian demarcation gradually become fainter and 
fainter, till at last they are scarcely, if at all visible, amid the 
far greater glory of the surrounding splendor. 

As it regards endowment by individual contributions, it 
must be borne in mind that it is ever the work of time. The 
majestic oak that rears its towering trunk to the skies and 
spreads its giant arms far and wide, affording a cool, shady 
retreat for fleecy flocks and lowing herds, is not the growth 
of a day ; and, in boundless mercy to man, it is heaven's ap- 
pointment that it shall attain by easy gradations to its perfec- 
tion of beauty, and its maturity of strength. Man, God's no- 
blest creature, walks not abroad in the pride of his strength, 
and the power of his intellect, till he has passed through the 
periods of imbecile infancy, and complaining childhood, and 
joyous youth ; then comes the glory of manhood, with all its 
commingled sorrows and joys. And yet we fondly hope that 
the day is not far distant when Madison College will be suf- 
ficiently endowed. On this subject I have already addressed 
a communication to the ministers, members and friends of 
the Methodist Protestant Church, which may have met the 
eye of some in this auditory. This paper, it is intended, 
shall be speedily followed by another, submitting a feasible 
plan for raising the desired sum in a way so easy that the 
church shall neither feel nor fear any embarrassment in re- 
sponding to its details and fully complying with its solicita- 
tions. And here I think I may safely proclaim that the church 
will do her duty; and if so, the clear sunshine of prosperity 
will illuminate our toilsome pathway, and we shall ultimately 
be permitted to rejoice together in the full success of our 
cherished enterprise. 



INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 11 

The general utility of classical learning with some has long 
been a matter of doubt ; but it may be well to notice who 
they are that oppose it. And here 1 boldly assert that they 
are generally men who are not at all prepared to judge of 
the merits of the question. Few indeed, if any, who have 
realized its advantages, ever raise their voice against it. Nor 
have its opposers distinguished themselves either in the sci- 
entific or literary world. Among the celebrated men of mod- 
ern times, perhaps ninety-nine hundredths owe their emi- 
nence in great part to their classical attainments. Am I re- 
minded of a Franklin ? True, in early life he possessed not 
these advantages; but he became sensible of his deficiency, 
and applied himself assiduously to the acquisition of the 
Latin tongue; and to this acquisition he is doubtless indebted 
for much of his greatness. But who can tell how much 
higher he might have risen — how much brighter he might 
have shone, had he received in youth a classical education. 
His fame might have eclipsed a Newton's ; he might have 
made discoveries in mathematics and astronomy, as grand 
and useful as those in physics, which so astonished, by their 
surpassing boldness, the philosophers of the Old World. 

The study of the Latin and Greek classics improves the 
memory, develops and refines the taste, strengthens the rea- 
soning faculty, enlivens the imagination, invigorates the 
power of perception, and in a word educates and cultivates 
the mind, to no inconsiderable extent, in all its faculties. 
Many persons of the most profound erudition assert that, for 
these purposes, no study in the whole circle of the sciences 
can be substituted in its stead. And while the abstruse the- 
orems and the puzzling scholia of mathematics would, like 
an avalanche, crush the budding intellect, this gently fills, and 
expands, and continues to enlarge its capacities, in their 
steady advance to maturity. And not only are its effects 
thus happy on the intellectual faculties, but it also furnishes 



12 INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 

to the student the machinery if I may so speak, for the 
acquisition of sound scientific knowledge. 

The English language, as is well known, is almost wholly 
derivation, the number of primitive words being compara- 
tively few. And though the basis of the language is the 
Anglo-Saxon, yet since neither the Angles nor the Saxons 
were acquainted with the sciences as were the Greeks and 
Romans, therefore the terms used in science are derived from 
these, now denominated the learned languages ; and it is sus- 
ceptible of indisputable demonstration that these terms are 
rarely, if ever, well understood by other than the linguist. 

Again. One of the most ardent students and finished schol- 
ars of this or any other age, Lord Brougham, of London, 
declared that "to the models of ancient Greece and Rome we 
owe much of our civilization and refinement." And what 
are these models ? Look at their architecture — their statu- 
ary — their poetry — their oratory — their philosophy — are 
these not worth studying ? The mouldering ruins of Athens 
and Rome have furnished architectural and statuary models 
for the imitation of the world — their poetry and oratory 
stand, perhaps, unrivaled — and the Iliad of Homer and the 
Orations of Demosthenes will ever remain among the high- 
est standards of sublimity and elegance. 

O Genius ! ne'er enough can we admire 
Thy matchless gifts and unextinguished fire 
That in the master-works of Homer glow, 
Diffusing life and light around, below — 
To every age posterior to his day, 
And now his worth in modern bards display. 

Farther. He who aspires to distinction in either of the 
learned professions may never gain his object by taking the 
superficial course prescribed by some. If he would study 
his selected profession successfully, he must lay the founda- 
tion deep in classical learning; then the erection of the su- 
perstructure will be graceful, regular and stately. And where 



INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 13 

is the aspirant for professional distinction who would not 
avail himself of its immense advantages ? who would volun- 
tarily close his eyes against the brilliant light it sheds upon 
his intricate and arduous pathway ? And where is the stu- 
dent of theology, who believes that it is in the arrangement 
of heaven that he shall officiate at the sacred altar, who 
would not consider it an inestimable privilege to study that 
w r ord which hath " brought life and immortality to light," 
in the polished language in which its heavenly pages were 
originally penned ? "Vague and uncertain translations," if 
such there be, might satisfy those who care but little for 
eternal things ; but he who appreciates the worth of the im*- 
mortal soul, and admires and adores the ineftable goodness 
of God in the gift of Revelation, would reckon it an advan- 
tage worth securing, to imbibe fresh from the original foun- 
tain the stream of consolation and wisdom which perennially 
flows from its inspired leaves. 

By universal consent a high place has been assigned to the 
science of mathematics in a course of collegiate education, 
Its practical applications are as various and multiplied as are 
the concerns of life. It is applied to almost all the useful 
and many of the ornamental arts, and to every branch of 
physical science. The merchant finds it indispensable in 
fixing the rate at which to sell his commodities, ascertaining 
the profits and losses of his business, and adjusting, balancing 
and settling his accounts. The manufacturer is compelled to 
avail himself of its deductions, in arranging the complicated 
affairs of his establishment and adapting the materials used 
to the purposes intended. The agriculturist calls in its aid 
for ascertaining the fertility of his soil by the amount of 
produce yielded, and for regulating the barter of his super- 
fluous effects for other conveniences and luxuries of life. It 
is indispensable to the geographer for determining the latitude 
and longitude of places, the height of mountains, the course, 
2 



14 iNAUGUKAE ADDRESS 

breadtli and velocity of rivers, the dimensions of oceans, seas, 
continents and islands ; for defining the boundaries of differ- 
ent countries, and measuring the solid globe of our earth ; to 
the optician, for understanding the phenomena and laws of 
light, its absorption, refraction and reflection T its velocity? 
the nature of vision, the doctrine of colors and the philoso- 
phy of the rainbow ; to the architect in constructing edifices? 
calculating the strength of timbers^ the form of arches and 
the proportion of columns ; to the civil engineer for locating 
roads and canals, leveling and tunneling mountains, filling up 
valleys, spanning rivers, and removing nature's eternal barriers 
from before the car of improvement ; to the mariner in direct- 
ing the course of his ship, estimating the effect of ocean cur- 
rents^ trimming his sails to the wind, finding his latitude and 
longitude, and taking celestial and terrestrial observations ; 
and to the astronomer for computing the magnitude and mo* 
tions of the heavenly bodies, their distances from the sun, 
their densities, the times of their revolutions, the elements 
of their orbits, and the force of gravity in " wheeling them, 
unshaken, through the void immense." 

Besides these practical applications, numerous others might 
be mentioned to other departments of industry and art ; but 
it is not from such applications and uses that the study of 
mathematics derives its noblest importance. It is to develop? 
invigorate and build up that splendid fabric, the human intel- 
lect, to discipline its modes and habits of thought ; to teach 
it to take the successive steps in the processes of reasoning ; 
to accustom it to analyze and to group, to compare and con- 
trast ; to fix it upon the intermediate stages in every course 
of rational investigation ; to shield it from the ruinous influ- 
ences of false doctrines and false philosophy, and from its 
proneness to credulity and superstition on the one hand, and 
apathy and skepticism on the other ; to subject it to deter- 
minate rules of action, and direct it to distinct objects of 



INAUGURAL ADDRESS. IS 

inquiry ; to enable it to trace out the analogy and relation of 
things; to observe and understand the connection of cause 
and effect ; and to wield, with the most efficient force, the 
implements of sound logic in the discovery and defence of 
truth; to accustom it to systematize, arrange and classify its 
subjects in the most clear and luminous order; and, finally, 
to supply to man what his infinite Creator designed he should 
possess, the power to see and admire and understand his 
marvelous works. Hence it has been justly remarked that 
no subject so appropriately exemplifies the rules of correct 
thinking; and that a more finished specimen of exact logic has 
never been produced than the Elements of Geometry by Euclid. 
The natural sciences, or physics, have a most extensive 
range, and include in their sphere of investigations all de- 
partments of the material universe. They seek to make us 
acquainted with matter in all its forms and phenomena, in all 
its affinities and combinations, in all the changes and modifi- 
cations of the organic and inorganic world. They aim to 
impart to us a correct knowledge of the laws, impressed by 
the great Architect of the universe, upon the minutest mole- 
cule, as well as upon the mightiest globe in his limitless do- 
minions. Matter, unorganized, in the incessant changes it 
spontaneously undergoes, and the multiplied modifications it 
-is made to assume, as subject to man's controling power — 
matter, modified by the principle of vegetable life, in endless 
variety of mosses, ferns, grasses, grains, shrubs, trees, with 
their countless variations of bloom and perfume, fruit and 
foliage, and their infinitely diversified adaptations to the 
wants of the animal world — matter, modified by the prin- 
ciple of animal life, in limitless succession of animalculae, 
insects, reptiles, fish, birds, beasts, in all their species, genera 
and classes^ and the purpose they subserve in the economy 
of nature — matter in any and all connections and relations, 
visible and invisible, is the subject o( physical investigation. 



16 INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 

Of the various branches of the natural sciences time does 
not allow me to speak in detail. In general terms it may be 
observed that they are all important — are all connected, and 
most of them immediately with the comforts and conveni- 
ences of life, and all afford us direct intercourse and commu- 
nion with nature in her sublime and mysterious operations - y 
and through nature they lead, the mind and heart up to na- 
ture's God, proclaiming, as with one voice, through the 
multiplied millions of nature's works, from the smallest spire 
of grass to the innumerable worlds of the celestial scenery, 
"the hand that made us is divine. 55 

Since such is physics, it; may appear surprising to the stu- 
dent that the most of its cognate branches are of modern 
date. But it must be remembered that the ancient philoso- 
phers, wise and distinguished as many of them were, busied 
themselves, for the most part, in speculations concerning the 
supreme good, the nature of the soul, and a pure and sub- 
lime morality ; while mere matter and its modes of existence 
they deemed subjects of too undignified and gross a charac- 
ter, with some exceptions, to become the themes and hypo- 
theses of their exalted contemplations. Besides, the Aristote- 
lian method of philosophizing proved an insuperable barrier 
to discovery, and precluded for the lapse of ages well nigh all 
improvement. But when Francis Bacon, Lord Verulam, pro- 
duced his "Novum Organon Scienliarum, 55 and taught the 
world how to pursue scientific investigations by a rigid ap- 
plication of the inductive method, then suddenly the dor- 
men t powers of men sprung into acthity and life, nature un- 
folded to their astonished vision her penetralia and disclosed 
her arcana, and revealed herself in her potent energies to bless 
mankind. Since then discovery has followed discovery, and 
invention has superseded invention, and the powers of nature 
have rendered themselves so obedient to man's control, that 
it has become proverbial with the wisest of men, that no pro- 



INAUGURAL ADDR'E'&S, 17 

iessed invention or improvement, however surprising, shall 
be discredited till its absurdity is demonstrated. And yet 
how have men reluctated against the revelations of nature, 
A Galileo discovers some of her hitherto secret laws and 
principles calculated to pour unnumbered blessings on their 
heads, and a dungeon and excommunication are his reward, 
till solemnly he recants and swears on his knees in the pres- 
ence of an assembled multitude that her truth is a lie, and 
her sublime revelations a fable ! 

A Fulton, renouncing wealth, honor and glory, that he 
may subserve the cause of humanity and give to the world 
an application of one of nature's powers whereby the mil- 
lions of earth's population shall be benefited, is left to strug- 
gle on amid the taunts and jeers and ridicule and scorn of an 
ignorant multitude, and these are his guerdon. But now ten 
thousand steamers, monuments of his immortal genius, ride 
in grand magnificence over the tumultuous waters of a world, 
bringing, in effect, the remote parts of our earth almost into 
juxta-position, and furnishing undreamed of facilities to trade 
and commerce, arts and science, civilization and religion. 
And now, by this potent agent, the world is circumnavigated 
in the time of a summer's excursion. 

But steam does not exhibit all its power in the propulsion 
of boats. The astonishment of men at this god-like achieve- 
ment had scarcely subsided, before they were called on to 
witness a stranger wonder still — cars of the mightiest human 
construction driven over the face of the earth, with the velo- 
city of the wind in a violent hurricane, burthened with hu- 
man beings, and bearing from country to country the wealth 
of the world. Along the line of their iron track the angel 
of the Apocalypse flies, having the everlasting gospel in his 
hand, and aloft he holds the word of eternal truth, and high 
he rears the standard of the gospel to bless and to save man- 
kind. Ignorance, error, superstition, id6latry, heathenism, 
2* 



18 INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 

fall prostrate before its power; and love, peace and joy arise 
and flourish in their stead. And thus these, God's agents, 
shall subserve God's purpose in the salvation of the world. 
" Consider the steam engine. Jt is computed that the steam 
power of Great Britain, not including the labor economized 
by the enginery it puts in motion, performs annually the work 
of a million of men. In other words, the steam engine adds 
to the population of Great Britain another population, one 
million strong. Strong it may well be called. What a popu- 
lation I so curiously organized, that they need neither luxu- 
ries nor comforts, that they have neither vices nor sorrows, 
subject to an absolute control without despotism, laboring 
night and day for their owners without a complaining word ; 
a frugal population that wastes nothing and consumes no- 
thing unproductively; an orderly population, to which mobs 
and riots are unknown ; among which the peace is kept with- 
out police, courts, prisons or bayonets, and annually lavish- 
ing the products of one million pairs of hands to increase 
the comforts of the fifteen or twenty millions of the human 
population. Indeed it is wholly impossible to calculate the 
quantity of labor economized by all the machinery which the 
steam engine puts in motion." Mr. Baines, in his History of 
the Cotton Manufacture, states " that the spinning machinery 
of Great Britain, tended by one hundred and fifty thousand 
workmen, produces as much yarn as could have been pro- 
duced by forty millions of men with the one-thread wheel." 
Br. Buckland, in his Mineralogy and Geology, remarks " that 
it has been supposed that the amount of work now done by 
machinery in England, is equivalent to that of between three 
and four hundred millions of men by direct labor." If such 
be the estimate for Great Britain, at what should it be set 
down for our country and the world ? Who can calculate 
the pages of literary, scientific and religious intelligence 
which the steam power printing press annually, monthly, 



INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 9 

weekly, daily, hourly pours forth upon the world, like a 
mighty flood of light and glory ? And still it is continually 
increasing, and will in God's good providence continue so to 
do, till there shall not be found one dark spot on all our globe ! 

The department of experimental philosophy is a spacious 
field ; and it is the spirit of the age to press forward in explor- 
ing its hitherto latent recesses and to bring to light its hidden 
mysteries. And the trophies which our own citizens have 
won upon this field of inquiry, are without parallel for bril- 
liance and utility in the history of the world. Visit the patent 
office at the seat of our national government, and examine the 
models which are there deposited by patentees, as well to 
secure to themselves the emoluments of their inventions and 
improvements as to guard the government from fraud, and 
you will find in those remarkable models — from the plow to 
the grist mill — from the whip-saw to the circular disk whiz- 
zing its fearless way through fifty square feet of timber in a 
minute — from the coffee boiler to the latest improvement of 
the steam engine — in every department of the useful arts a 
bold, impressive and instructive synopsis of our country's 
history, so far, in this most utilitarian age. 

Professor Morse, of electric telegraph notoriety, has in our 
times suspended the world of intelligence upon magnetic 
wires, and now you shall scarcely have matured a thought 
in your own mind ere you may publish it to the citizens of 
Boston and New Orleans ! In this astonishing and happy 
application of a natural agent, flashing intelligence along, its 
aerial track with a velocity of 200,000 miles in a second of 
time, who does not behold the safeguard of our liberties, and 
the perpetuity of our inestimable blessings ! who does not 
recognize and hail the dawning of that clay when intelligence 
and religion shall possess the world, when the nations shall 
learn war no more, and peace and happiness shall universally 
prevail ! 



20 INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 

Had 1 time it would delight me much to speak particularly 
of Botany, Mineralogy, Geology, Natural History, Moral and 
Mental Philosophy, Ancient and Modern History, Chemistry, 
Meteorology, and especially of Astronomy, the most majestic 
and sublime of all the physical sciences, in which the student 
on a scale of unutterable grandeur scans the operations of 
God's marvelous works, and listens with a heaven-attuned 
ear to the music of the spheres, and hears u the heavens 
declaring the glory of God," and sees the firmament " show- 
ing forth his handy-work." And let it not for a moment be 
supposed that the study of material objects on a large or a small 
scale is calculated to make men materialists* no conclusion 
could be more preposterous. A man of profound erudition, 
whose judgment would not be here questioned, with truth as 
well as fervor exclaims, "An undevout astronomer is mad." 
And one of the most celebrated of English poets, on the 
theme of divine superintendence, in his sweetly flowing 
strain avers, 

"Nature and nature's laws lay hid in night, 
God said let Newton be, and all was light." 

Indeed, " if the moral and religious character be correspond- 
ingly developed ; if the religious affections be properly culti- 
vated ; if Christ but lay the hand of his healing power upon 
the human heart, then will the understanding be prepared to 
see in all things the finger of God, and to praise him not 
only in the firmament of his power, but in the tints and tex- 
ture of every petal that drinks the dew, and in the wings and 
antennae of every gnat that hums in the evening air ; or, as 
the inimitable Shakspear has it, to 

Find tongues in trees, books in the running brook, 
Sermons in stones, and good in every thing.' 1 

To such an one the spire of grass, the whispering breeze, 
" the outgoings of morning and evening," the song of birds, 



INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 21 

the deep voice of the thunder-peal, and the vivid blaze of the 
lightning-flash, all intelligently speak of a Spiritual Power, 
omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, presiding over all, con- 
troling all, sustaining all, constantly carrying forward to their 
consummation the purposes of infinite goodness and infinite 
wisdom. 

To the student about to enter Madison College I may 
remark that the rewards of industry in the pursuit of know- 
ledge are many and great, more valuable than the choicest 
gems, richer than the mines of Peru or California, more 
precious than the incense of Arabia, sweeter than honey and 
the honeycomb. Who can measure the ocean's depth, or 
estimate eternity ? Immense, boundless, infinite, eternal are 
the honors, the riches, the glories, the blessings, of him who 
successfully and devoutly studies the laws of nature and the 
works of God. Through the lapse of ages, through the in- 
terminable roll of eternity's years, shall these riches, and 
honors, and glories, and blessings, become higher and 
brighter and purer and holier. 

One of these rewards which may at present be mentioned 
and dwelt upon with satisfaction, is the conscious possession 
of a cultivated mind. Ignorance we instinctively feel is deep 
degradation, a pit of horror, the blackness of darkness, a 
region of loathsomeness and gloom and wretchedness, from 
which it is our duty and our interest to fly with all possible 
speed. The heart assures us every moment of our lives that 
knowledge is power of the most valuable character; and 
hence the natural thirst which all feel for its attainment, but 
which, alas ! is too often suppressed, stifled and utterly ex- 
terminated by indolence and vice. These, the vilest enemies 
of our best interests, foes to our welfare for time and for 
eternity, gain such a predominating influence over the hearts- 
and habits of a majority of our race, that the shackles of 
ignorance confine them in thraldom, till their period of pro- 



"22 INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 

bation in this world closes for ever ! But industry with her 
magic wand, stimulated by the encouraging voice of religion, 
subdues these foes and puts them to flight, and transforms 
that pit into a "Tempe's Vale," and that region of darkness 
into Eden's Paradise of delights ! Industry, persevering in- 
dustry, is the true philosopher's stone, that turns every thing 
to gold. It is to the mind what the air is to the body, the 
indispensable " pabulumvitae," without w hich all its energies 
are wasted, and its glory becomes a gloom*, without which 
midnight darkness takes the place of noon-day brightness, 
and life becomes a burden too intolerable to be borne ; with- 
out which the dazzling glories of the eternal world are con- 
cealed by an impenetrable cloud, and all hope of reaching 
its blissful abodes is for ever precluded ! 

Gladly would I rove farther in the extensive field before 
me did time permit; but I must forbear and content myself 
with the remark that to understand the sciences, as well as 
the languages, is indispensable to every well educated gen- 
tleman. The Mantuan bard, near two thousand years ago, 
felicitously sung in a strain of surpassing melody, 

" Felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas;" 

And the philosopher of modern times finds sterling truth as 
well as sublime poetry in his delightful song. Yet there are 
many who discourse learnedly and critically about books, 
after a hasty perusal of their title-pages and tables of con- 
tents ! many who with an assumed air of erudition and a son- 
orous volubility would overwhelm a man of reason, who can 
neither construct a syllogism nor distinguish between a the- 
orem and a corollary ! u many who assume as axiomatic 
truths those grand and essential principles which exact the 
patient industry and disciplined thought of the laborious 
mathematician to demonstrate to the understanding." Sci- 
ence, like fate, is inexorable in her mandates; and he who 



il\ AUGURAL ADDKCSTS. 23 

would gain her richest rewards and win her brightest smiles y 
must be assiduous in his devotions and indefatigable in his^ 
zeal. To her high requirements his energies must be in per- 
petual subserviency. With patient perseverance he must ex- 
amine the microscopic world, learn the habitudes of the mul- 
tiplied millions of its animated beings, and make acquaintance 
as far as possible with the laws of their minute existences, 
He must handle the retort and crucible of the chemical labor- 
atory, investigate by analysis and synthesis the nature of com- 
pound and simple substances, carefully observe their affinities 
for each other, and ascertain the proportions with which 
they combine in the formation of the material objects every 
where surrounding him. He must study the mineralogical 
and geological characteristics of our earth ; the uses and value 
of the different metals, rocks, and gems of its numerous 
countries ; the curious and wonderful subject of crystal ogra- 
phy ; the strata of rocks, and the gradual progression by which 
our globe has attained to its present comfortable condition. 
He must traverse the flowery paths of the vegetable king- 
dom ; arrange in systematic order its numerous plants, vary- 
ing with every varying climate; and while he partakes of the 
luscious dainties of its fruits, he must make familiar acquaint- 
ance with the remedial agents of the botanical world. He 
must look with the eye of a naturalist at the different tribes 
of animated nature, see the handy work of God in fitting for 
its appropriate place each polished link in the great chain of 
being, from an insect to man, his noblest creature, and deeply 
study the physiological laws of his own mysterious consti- 
tution. As a mathematician he must "comprehend every 
proposition, solve every problem, and demonstrate every the- 
orem." He must understand the laws of motion, the com- 
position and resolution of forces, and the means by which 
velocity may be accelerated or retarded. He must be able to 
explain the philosophy of vision, the doctrine of colors, the 



24 INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 

properties of light, its laws of reflection, its degrees of re- 
frangibility, and the diversified phenomena of visible objects* 
He must survey the starry heavens, watch the revolutions of 
the planets and satellites in their stately march, compute their 
velocities, observe their conjunctions and oppositions, mea- 
sure their distances from their centers of motion and the 
dimensions of their orbits, note the various phases which 
they exhibit, and through the medium of the telescope read 
the sublime revelations of those far-off worlds which the un- 
assisted eye hath never seen, nor can see, and hold high con- 
verse with the God of nature through the splendid and mag- 
nificent panorama of his works in the gilded decorations of 
the ethereal expanse. He must become familiar with the 
beauty, melody and power of language, understand and prac- 
tice the rules of correct composition, and be able to commu- 
nicate to others with attractiveness and elegance the treasures 
of his knowledge. He must thread the mazes of moral phil- 
osophy, seek familiarity with its profound precepts, and be 
prompt to apply them in his daily intercourse with men and 
in the government of his own conduct. He must study his 
own intellectual powers, the laws of association and sugges- 
tion, and perpetually aim at a higher elevation in the scale of 
intellectual life. The fields of science are not yet fully ex- 
plored. There are many California districts to reward the 
toil of their discoverers, many plains of verdant beauty still 
the land of fable and romance to make their explorers as re- 
nowned as the heroes of Phillippi, Waterloo or Yorktown ; 
many valleys in which lie imbedded diamonds of the richest 
hue and brilliancy ; many untrodden heights to which the 
aspiring genius of youthful America may climb with daring 
footsteps to gather flowers and wreath festoons to encircle 
with unfading glory her illustrious brow. 



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